ABUJA — The House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, resolved to invite the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, to brief its Committee on Electoral Matters within seven legislative days on the commission’s comprehensive preparations for the 2027 general elections.
The resolution was reached during plenary following a joint motion of urgent national importance sponsored by Minority Whip Mansur Manu Soro and Deputy Minority Leader Abdulsamad Dasuki.
Moving the motion, Soro expressed deep concerns over lingering operational gaps, warning that any unaddressed delays in voter registration, logistics deployment, and security mapping could severely erode public trust in Nigeria’s democratic process.
“Any delay in addressing existing operational gaps in voter registration, logistics, technology deployment, and funding may adversely affect public confidence in the electoral process and compromise the peaceful conduct of the 2027 general election,” Soro cautioned.
He stressed that Parliament has a binding constitutional obligation to ensure that public institutions tasked with critical national responsibilities are thoroughly prepared, adequately funded, and fully accountable.
The lawmakers directed Professor Amupitan to provide detailed updates on the status of Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) production and distribution, technological readiness, deployment logistics, mapping of security-challenged areas, election official recruitment, budgetary releases, and the operational impact of any funding shortfalls.
While the original motion sought to compel the INEC Chairman to address the entire House in plenary, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu proposed an amendment directing the briefing to take place before the Committee on Electoral Matters, with open attendance for all interested members.
“The briefing should be done at the committee level to allow for an exhaustive, technical session, while any interested lawmaker can attend,” Kalu suggested.
The amendment was adopted after Speaker Tajudeen Abbas put it to a voice vote.
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